Now that winter is over, we can start cleaning up the mess the salt trucks left behind! Gargantuan amounts of industrial rock salt are laid across our country’s roads for months at a time, and this can really take its toll on your property. Use these tips to combat the corrosive rock salt residue and get your belongings back to looking like new!
Carpeting/flooring- If you don’t make it a priority to regularly take your shoes off before coming inside the house, during the winter, you can begin to track in rock salt; which leaves behind ugly discolorations that could have otherwise been avoided. To clean, mix a solution of water, vinegar, and dish soap. Lightly douse the area with the solution, let sit for 10 minutes, and dab up lightly with a microfiber towel. Do this a few times or until the stain is removed, If the stain is deep, call a professional carpet cleaner to help you target the problem area.
Vehicle – Rock salt is terrible for your car! During the winter months, you want to park it in the driveway or garage if possible to keep it away from this rust-causing chemical. If your car is an important investment to you, like it is to many, then keeping it clean and operational is non-negotiable. If your car has lots of salt residue on the interior mats and exterior paint, dish soap is your best friend. Lightly wet the exterior of the entire car with warm water, let it sit, rinse, and then wash normally with dish soap and rinse with water. The same process goes for the mats and interior, this time use a sponge and bucket of warm soapy water to get rid of all of the unsightly salt stains. Scrub until all evidence is gone, let dry, and voila!
Driveway – Black tops can take some serious damage during the winter. If left untreated can really turn your once smooth and sleek driveway into a gross patchy mess, making you regret getting that fresh blacktop installed in the first place. If your driveway is truly compromised call a professional seal coater and save the trouble for an expert. Otherwise, if you keep up with this cleaning method each winter your driveway will stay looking fine for years. Simply wet the stains, apply the same vinegar dish soap solution and scrub the spots with a deck brush. This may have to be repeated several times, and works best when the water is hot as well as has enough time to sit to loosen the salt particles!
There you have it! Easy ways to rid yourself of that nasty rock salt residue! Go one step further and ditch rock salt use at your home altogether and use only the environmentally safe Green Ice Melt products. Our products don’t require all of the annoying clean up associated with other competing brands, nor do they have any negative impact on plants, animals, or water sources! In society, we will still have to drive and walk down areas consistently using rock salt, but at least we don’t have to be part of the problem! Think Green for the coming colder months!
